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Photographic 

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pramlAre  page  qui  comporte  una  empreinte 
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empreinte. 

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aymbole  V  aignifia  "FIN  ". 

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reproduit  en  un  aeul  clichA,  il  eat  film*  A  partir 
de  Tangle  aupArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  baa,  an  prenant  le  nombre 
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iliuatrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

t^itm  jpcrc^  and  Ijortkp  f  Itio 

HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


TRACT  No.  34— NOVEMBER,  1876. 


THK    MA^RORY    PAPKRS 


I 
lift 


VOI.UMK  ONK. 


Bt    C.    C.    BALDWIN, 


HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY. 


TRACT  No.  84-NOVEMBER,  1876. 


VOLUME  ONB. 


By   C.    C.   BALDWIN, 


Dlcouvertes  et  fefablissements  des  Fran- 
cais  dans  I'Ouest  et  dans  1e  Sud  de  I'Ani^r- 
ique,  Bepteutriouale,  1014-1754. 

Memo! res  et  Documents  Originaux  recue- 
illis  et  publics  par  Pierre  Marpry,  Premiere 
partie,  1614-1684,     Paris,  1875. 

Tlie  great  West  was,  until  a  comparatively 
late  period,  under  the  dominion  of  France. 
Frenchmen  made  tht  first  discoveries.  Many 
years  ago  ttiey  made  settlements,  traded,  and 
occupied  the  country  until,  willi  the  .capture 
of  Quebec    in  1760.    all  the  Western  posts 
were   surrendered  to  Great  Britain.     It  is 
then  to  France   that  we  must  look  for  its 
early  hist^  y.    It  is  only  within  a  few  years 
that  extensive  researches  have  '  een  made  in 
that   ciuniry.      ^ue   State    of  New  York 
expended    u    very    large     sum    to     pub- 
lish    in     eleven      immense     quarto    vol- 
umes   documents    of    especial    interest  in 
that  State.    For  the  history  of  New  En- 
gland, New  Jersey,  and  Louisiana  other  in- 
vestigations have'been  made.    A  quiet  gen- 
tleman of  Paris,  Ml    Pierre    Margry,  long 
connected  witn  the  Department  of  the  Ma- 
rine, has  devoieu  many  years  to   gathering 
what  v/ould  illustrate  the  foreign  history  of 
France,  especially  in  America.     He  has  al- 
ready rendereil  this  country  great  service  in 
tbe  investigations  already  referred  to.     His 
manuscripts,  yet    unpublished,    were   care- 
fully collected  from  all  parts  of  France  and 
are     unique.       The    knowledge   of    these 
treasures  could  not  but  make  their  publica- 
tion much  desired.    Were   it   not   for   the 
"Boston    flre"     this     would     have    been 
done    by    private   hands,    but   that    con- 
flagration destroying  8u«b  hopes,  (!ongre:JS 
came  to  tba  rescue  and  appropriated  a  sum, 
not  too  large,  in  tbe  purchase  of  copies  to 
encourage  the  publication  of  such  portions 
as  relate  to  our  own  country. 


This  plan  of  publication  originated  with 
the  Historical  Society  at  Cleveland  and  was 
warmly  seconded  by  Mr.  Parkman  and  by 
other  societies  and  historical  scholars 
throughout  the  country. 

The    first  of  the  nine  volumes  is   indeed 
fidl  of  interest.     Tbe  materials  for  the  early 
French  history  in  this  country  are  in  socae 
respeijts  very  full  and  in  others  very  scanty. 
The   Jesuits  were    powerful    in   the  New 
World  and  their  Relations  were  regularlv 
transmitted  to  the  mother  country.      But 
the  Jesuits  were  not   all    tbe  colony  nor 
were    all    the     discoveries     made    under 
their    auspices,     though    they   apparently 
desired  that  it  should  be  so.     La  Salle  was 
the  first  discoverer  of  the    Ohio,  the  first  to 
truce  the  Mississippi  to  the  sea.    The  French 
rested  their  claim  to  the  erreat  West  mainly 
upon  these  facts,   and  to-day  his  portrait 
adorns  the  Capitol  at  Washington  us  one  of 
the  four  great  discoverers  of  America.    But 
he  is  hardly  mentioned  in   these  Relations. 
M.  Margry  has  done  more  than  any  other  to 
recover  the  history  of  La  SalU\    The  hand- 
some voiume  before  us  is  ornamented  with 
his  portrait  as  he  appeared  in  his  younger 
days,  with  long  curls  and  the  dress  of  a  man 
of  the  world.  There  is,  however,  a  determin- 
ation in  the  tace  and  a  remless,  dreamy  lOok 
to  the  eyes  as  if  the  portrait  was  not  an  un- 
likely one  for  the  man  \^ho,  in  spite  of  the 
opposition  of  all,  could  penetrate  alone  vast 
countries,  could  give  hi.s  fortune  to  discov- 
ery,  and    persist    with  such  force  of  will 
that  he  should  be  slain  by  his  own  men  m  a 
pathless  wilderness,  thousan  :s  of  miles  from 
even  the  settlementb  of  his  own  countrymen 
in  the  WcRtern  world. 

The  earlier  papers  in  tlie  volume  relate  to 
the  ItecoUets— the  "first  missionaries  of  tbe 
West  and  South,  in  North  America."    They 


THE  liECOLLETS-INDlAN  THADE. 


were  professediV  poor  and  plain.  They  hast- 
ened to  the  new  land  and  established  a  con- 
vent at  Qui'bec  and  posts  at  other  places.  The 
Jesuits  came  over  after,  partly  on  their  invi- 
tation, and  in  the  end  very  decidedly  turned 
them  out  of  Canada.  The  second,  and  larrer 
paper,  is  a  memoir  deoiring  relief  for  them 
from  the  obstacles  placed  in  their  way  by 
the. Jesuits,  and  the  Government  uf  Canada 
com  rolled  by  that  order.  There  seems  to 
have  been  danger  that  in  a  few  years  there 
would  not  be  a  Recoilet  in  Canada.  Thii? 
strife  belvvcen  the  religious  sects  deserves  a 
paper  of  its  own.  The  Jesuits,  at  first,  cer- 
taibly  very  devout  and  self-sacrificing  men, 
and  sometimes  martyrs,  were  too  devoted  to 
the  success  of  their  order,  and  the  Colo- 
ni'il  Go^'ernmeHt  was  ham{:ered  by 
them.  The  Government  at  home 
opposed  them  secretly  and  not  openly. 
Recoliets  were  meant  to  be  encouraged  to 
offset  them  The  Count  de  Front enac  in 
his  letters  wrote  earnestly  agains;  them  in 
cipher,  praising  tbem  in  other  parts  of  the 
same  letter  which  might  fall  under  their 
eyes.  In  a  later  paper  from  him  in  this 
volume  are  presented  his  views  with  much 
earnestness  and  in  plain  French.  He 
sketches  their  power  and  possessions,  their 
hostility  to  the  Recoliets,  and  accuses  them 
of  a  want  of  fidelity  to  the  King.  This 
generfl  animosity  against  all  the  most  faith- 
ful servants  of  tlie  King  shows  well  enough 
their  designs."  "They  would  not  allow  the 
Recoliets,"  says  he,  "to  hear  confession  or 
administer  sacrament."  He  had  charged 
them  in  a  previous  letter  with 
caring  more  for  beavers  than  tor 
souls.  "They  had  opposed,"  says  Fron- 
tenac,  "the  sale  of  brandy  lo  the  Indians, 
without  which  the  fur  trade  could  not  be 
successful  and  now  even  opposed  the  sale  of 
wine,  to  place  a  new  yoke  on  the  people." 
It  was  common  knowledge  that  they  took 
directly  or  indirectly  the  management  of 
everything,  and  used  for  that  purpose  a  pow- 
erful espionage.  They  did  not  teach  the 
Indians  French  lest  they  should  become 
friends  of  the  civH  power.  A  vocabulary 
for  Indian  use  defined  equal  "  the  Black 
Robe  (Jesuit  priest)  is  equal  to  Onontio  (In- 
dian name  for  the  Governor  of  Canada)." 
They  told  other  savages  that  they  were  the 
masters  of  Onontio.  And  in  truth  they  do 
not  seem  in  saying  that  to  have  very'vio- 
lently  stretched  the  truth. 

Two  papers  present  a  lively  pic'ure  of  the 
commercial  strife  with  the  Dutch  for  the 
trade  ot  the  Indians.  The  Iroquois  had  killed 
the  beaver  south  of  the  lakes  and  were  get- 
ting them  from  the  North  and  Northwest 
and  selling  ihera  at  Albany  and  at  better 
prices  than  the  French  had  paid.  The  whole 
volume  shows  the  projects  for  extension  of 


Western  and  Southern  trade  by  the  unknown 
river  Ohio  and  the  unknown  river  Missis- 
sippi, even  to  the  "Mer  Vermeio,"  Gulf  of 
California,  and  in  other  directions.  Such 
were  the  motives  held  forth  to  the  King  for 
such  expeditions  as  were  made  by  La  Salle, 
though  La  Salle  himself  seems  to  have  been 
actuated  by  an  innate  love  of  adventure  and 
discovery  such  as  very  tew  men  have  ever 
had. 

Page  170,  Lake  Erie  is  mentioned  in  1671 
as  called  by  the  savages  "Techaronkion." 

Temperance  men  will  find  in  the  volume 
an  interesting  discussion  concerning  the 
sale  ot  brandy  to  the  Indians,  and  the  views 
of  various  persons  are  presented  much  in 
the  manner  of  witnesses  in  a  Congressional 
commission,  with  the  usual  diversity  of  opin- 
ion. 

There  appear  the  "Details  of  the  voyage 
of  Louis  JoUiel,"  who  visited  in  1673  the 
Mississippi,  having  departed  from  Quebec  by 
order  of  Frontenac  lo  discover  the  South 
Sea.  His  map  is  meationed,  which  we  hope 
M.  Margry  will    publish. 

The  interest  of  the  volume  centers    in  La 
Salle.    Although  in  a  very  early  day  be  dis- 
covered the  Ohio,  but  little  has  been  known, 
or  in  fact  is  now,  of  the  particulars.    I  pur- 
posely omit  discussion  of  this  journey.    In 
tins  volume  appears   much   history   of  La 
Halle,      his       plans,       expenses,       drafts 
upon      his     family     and     friends,     how 
he         built         upon         Lake        Ontario 
and  planned  to  build  upon  Lake  Erie  and 
further  west;  how  he  built  on  the  Niagara 
river,  on  the  river  St.  Joseph  in  the  south- 
west part  of  Michigan, and  away  within  the 
wilds  of  Illinois,  among   the  tribe  of   that 
name,  the  fourth  fort,  Crevecoeur.    An  in- 
teresting memoir  is  that  of  a  friend  ot  the 
Abbe  de  Gallinee  relating,  from  the   infor- 
mation of  La  Salle  himself,  the  particulars  of 
his  journey    with     the    Abbe,     including 
accounts  of  the    Indian    tribes    and  their 
manners.    In  1069  Gallinee,  Doriier.and  La 
Salle  left  Montreal  to  seek  the  Ohio  known 
by  report.    They  turned  toward  its  source, 
but  the  Iroquois  dissuaded  the  two  priests 
from  the  journey.much  to  the  dissatisfaction 
of  La  Salle,  and  the  party  turned  to  the  north 
of  Lake  Erie.    The  report  of  Abbe  Gallinee 
of  this  journey  is  also  iu  this  volume.   From 
it  we  extract  '."U  fl  single  word,  Paouitiko- 
ungraentaouak,  tae  Algonkin  name  for  the 
Chippeways.     The  feelings  of  La  Salle  were 
with  the  Recoliets.     They  were  first;  the 
Jesuits  came  after  (says  the  memoir),  and 
the  Recoliets  gave  them  half  their  house. 
The  Jesuits  shortly  got  the  other  half  abd 
the  Recoliets  bad  hard  work  to  get  it  back. 
The  Jesuits    were  established    in  Quebec, 
"where    they     are      absolute      masters" 
L'Eyesque(the  Governor)  was  their  creature 


and  would  < 

Salle  compli 

control  tradi 

the  Black  R 

shipped  Ooi 

beavers  we  i 

disliked  La 

this  volume 

it  appeared 

whichever  p 

thing,    to  p 

from  which 

profit,  and  ti 

has  become 

aversion."  1 

prompted  b 

made  disco' 

perior  of  161 

were  search  I 

schemes  of 

for  their  or( 

America,  mi 

nificent  as  tl 

The  panel 

the  times  t 

tory,  and  w( 

love  of  po^ 

fiuenced  hii 

seem   to  be 

ments  if  an; 

The  most 

called  a  "P 

Travels  of  i 

emor  ot  F< 

lakes  of  Ne 

Colbert,  16' 

ering  150  pa 

and  probabi 

the  return  o 

La  Salle  w 

famous  auc 

vast.    He  ' 

valley  of  < 

foundation 

country  ten 

tile,  and  c 

Such  hold 

that,  at  th 

could     ous 

In  the  comi 

Griffin,    thi 

Ene,  meet 

Iroquois,    t 

was    at  wi 

early  part  o 

other  sour; 

travels  afte 

parted  witt 

never  been 

wish  we  CO 

our  EnglisI 

in  detail  ih 

adventure, 

and  Indiai 


THE  JK8UITS-  LA  8ALLE. 


« 


and  nrould  do  n3thin|?  without  them.  La 
Salle  complaine  that  the  Jesuits  sought  to 
control  trade.  One  Indian  said  that  "when 
the  Black  Hobes  were  among  us  we  wor- 
Hhipped  God,  but  when  there  were  no  more 
beavers  we  see  them  no  more."  The  Jesuits 
dibliked  La  Salle  very  much.  Frontecac  in 
this  volume  (page  82:i)  says  "their  design,  as 
it  appeared  in  the  end, was  to  sdt  a  trap 
whichever  path  I  took,  or  to  derange  every- 
thing, to  place  the  country  in  disorder 
from  which  they  would  no"t  heMiate  to 
profit,  and  to  ruin  M.  de  la  Salle."  ''He 
has  become  the  object  of  their  envy  and 
aversion."  This  enmity  wa^  no  doubt  much 
prompted  by  their  pif'UE'  zeal.  They  had 
made  discoveries.  Their  map  of  Lake  Su- 
perior of  1U71  was  almost  wonderful  They 
were  searching  tor  the  Mississippi  .and  their 
schemes  of  power,  wealth,  and  dominion, 
for  their  order  in  the  great  valley  of  North 
America,  may  have  been  as  errand  and  mag 
nitlcent  as  those  of  La  Salle  fur  his  King. 

The  paper  lets  us  into  such  lively  views  of 
the  times  ns  are  not  given  in  ordinary  his- 
tory, and  we  see  how,  after  all,  love  of  gain, 
love  of  power,  and  joalf^usy  of  others  in- 
fluenced history  in  such  solitu'^es  as  would 
seem  to  be  tree  from  such  disturbing  ele- 
ments if  any  freedom  could  be  found. 

The  most  valuable  paper  of  the  volume  is 
called  a  "Relation  of  the  Discoveries  and 
Travels  of  Sir  de  la  Salle,  Lord  and  Gov- 
ernor of  Fort  Frontenac,  beyond  the  great 
lakes  of  New  France,  made  by  order  of  M. 
Colbert,  1679-80-81."  It  is  a  narrative  cov- 
ering 150  pages  of  the  events  of  those  years, 
and  probably  the  official  report  made  after 
the  return  of  La  Salle  to  Montreal.  In  1677 
La  Salle  was  in  France.  He  was  already 
famous  and  of  influence.  His  scheme  was 
vast.  He  wanted  to  penetrate  to  the  great 
valley  of  our  continent  and  lay  there  the 
foundation  of  powerful  colonics  "  in  a 
country  temperate  in  climate,  rich  and  fer- 
tile, and  capable  of  a  grand  c:mmerce." 
Such  hold  of  the  continent  would  betaken 
that,  at  the  next  war  with  Spain,  France 
could  oust  her  in  North  America. 
In  the  commencement  of  1679  i^e  built  the 
Griffin,  the  first  vessel  navigating  Lake 
Ene,  meeting  some  opposition  from  the 
Iroquois,  but  less  because  that  nation 
was  at  war  beyond  Lake  Erie.  The 
early  part  of  the  story  is  well  known  from 
other  sources, but  'he  narrative  of  La  Salle's 
travels  after  he  left  Fort  Crevecoeur  and 
parted  with  the  expedition  to  the  North  has 
never  been  told  so  completely  as  here.  We 
wish  we  could  present  the  whole  paper  to 
our  English  readers,  but  we  cannot  follow 
in  detail  the  straight,  business-like  story  of 
adventure,  travel,  description  of  countries 
and  Indian  nations,  contests,    diplomacy, 


discouragements  and  perseverance.  The 
Iroquois  traveled  from  their  homes  in  Ne** 
York  all  through  the  West,  and  it  was  dan- 
gerous to  t-ike  sides  or  nut  to.  They  were 
then  flghUng  the  Illinois  and  the  Miamis. 
First  living  south  of  Lake  Ontario,  the  best 
armed  and  most  warlike  tribe  in  America, 
they  defeated  and  exterminated  (sayt 
our  memoir)  all  their  neighbors. 
They  bore  their  arms  to  the 
Gult  of  St.  Lawrenca,  to  the  North  Sea.  in 
Florida,  and  even  beyond  the  river  Missis- 
sippi. They  have  (says  the  writer)  in  thir- 
ty years  destroyed  over  600,000  liyes,  and 
made  desert  most  of  the  country  round  the 
great  lakes. 

La  t^alle  tiad  expected  the  Griffin  with  sup- 
plies for  his  journey  down  the  river.  He 
never  saw  the  vessel  again.  She  was  lost, 
he  believed  by  treachery,  and  he  must 
return  for  succor.  Early  in  1680  he 
reached  St.  Joseph.  He  found  two  men 
whom  he  h"d  sent  around  the  lake,  but 
they  did  not  find  the  Griffin.  Arrived  at 
length  at  Niagara,  he  found  he  had  also 
lost  a  ship  with  supplies  from  France.  He 
reached  Montreal,  May  6tb,  16S0  His  cred- 
itors had  siezed  his  property  and 
his  resources  seemed  entirely  wasted. 
On  his  return  to  Frontenac  he 
learned  by  letter  from  Tonty  that  his  men 
left  at  Crevecoeur  had  deserted  after  de- 
str  jyingjlhefort,  carrying  away  whatpioper- 
tv  they  could  and  destroying  the  balance. 
They  destroyed  Fort  St.  Joseph  and  also 
seized  La  Salle's  property  at  Niagara.  He 
was  not  disheartened.  He  started  to  succor 
Tonty  and  save  if  he  could  the  vessel  build- 
ing on  the  Illinois  with  which  he  meant  to 
descend  to  the  fea.  November  4ih,  1680,he 
reached  the  mou'.h  of  the  St.  Joseph.  The 
Iroquois  bad  fought  the  Illinois,  and  as  he 
ap()roached  Crevecoeur  there  were  only 
scenes  of  death  and  devastation.  When  he 
reached  that  post  he  found  it  silent;  the 
planks  of  his  vessel  were  there  and  on  one 
of  them  was  written,  "Nous  sommes  tous 
savages  ce  19  A—,  1680" — we  are  all  sav- 
ages. Was  it  prophetic  that  he  had  named 
the  fort  Crevecoeur  (Broken  Heart).  The 
romantic  interest  of  the  relation  is  here  at 
Its  height.but  La  Salle  does  not  stop  to  dwell 
upon  the  picture.  His  first  thought  was, 
did  the  A  mean  Aout  or  Avril,  August  or 
ApriL  He  wished  to  find  the  faithful 
Tonty.  Tonty's  fate  appears  part- 
ly in  this  relation  and  partly  in 
his  subsequent  memoir  in  this 
volume.  Not  the  Jesuits  alone  regarded  La 
Salle  with  jealousy.  The  Iroquois  were  not 
without  r'sason  fearful  that  the  Western 
tribes  would  be  umed  against  them  with  fire- 
arms and  other  assistance,  -and  that  a  great 
trade  in  the  West  would   draw   from  vheir 


■ 


LA  8ALLE-HENNEPIN. 


own  profits  with  the  Dutch  and  English. 
While  Tonty  was  absent  the  desertion  had 
taken  place.  After  he  returned  he  was  cap- 
tured by  the  Iroquois. 

In  Mar,  1681,  after  unsuccessful  search 
and  haid  labors,  buildins  up  Indian  succors 
and  strength,  La  Salic  left  the  fort  on  the  St. 
Joseph  for  Michilimackinac, where  he  found 
Tonty  and  Father  Membr£.  They  returned 
to  Frontenac,  and  this  paper  is  the  relation 
to  that  time. 

Of  bis  new,  wonderful  resurrection  of 
recourses  and  eventual  success  wu  do  not 
speak,  altliouEh  a  new  and  brief  relation  of 
it  from  information  of  his  brother  is  also  in 
this  volume. 

The  resolute  will  and  wonderful  power  of 
La  Salle  appear  nowhere  so  strongly  as  in 
the  narrative  we  have  quoted.  There  seems 
almost  a  direct  triumph  of  will  over  every 
opposition,  of  mind  over  matter.  This  is 
the  fullest,  most  explicit  and  valuable  ac- 
count of  this  series  ot  expeditions.  B\ 
whom  was  it  committed  to  writing?  Evi- 
dently by  some  one  fully  informed  and  from 
notes  made  day  by  day.  with  dates  as 
in  a  diary.  This,  as  well  as  the  expedition 
of  1682,  wherein  he  descended  the  Missis- 
sippi, were  made  under  the  commission  of 
1678,  wherein  the  King  was  graciously 
pleased  to  pprmit  La  Salle  to  discover  these 
new  lands  provided  he  did  it  at  his  own  ex- 
pense. The  official  report  of  the  la«t  expedi- 
tion was  made  by  Father  Zeoobe  MenibrS. 
a  Recollet.  See  La  Salle's  memoir  to 
Seignelay,  in  Falconer's  Mis,?iRsipni  and 
Oregon,  which  leaves  it  almost  doubtful 
whether  La  Salle  did  not  mean  to  say  that 
Membre  wrote  ibo  official  report  of  all  his 
expeditions  under  tbe  leave  of  1078.  Mem- 
bru  was  with  La  Salle  in  the  first  one,  and 
it  seems  probable  that  he  drew  this  report. 
It  ends  with  the  embarkation  of  La  Salle 
on  Lake  Ontario  for  Montreal,  the  last 
of  Augu.sr,  1681, and  tben  adds  the  hope  that 
the  end  of  the  year  1082  will  find  the  dis- 
covery of  the  mouth  of  '.be  Mississippi 
made. 

Some  part,s  of  the  report  relating  to  those 
parts  of  the  journey  where  Hennepin  was 
present  bear  a  striking  resemblance  to  his 
first  book,  published  in  1684.  I  translate, 
for  instance,  from  page  440.  The  two  re- 
ports are  word  for  word  the  same,  except 
where  differences  are  marked,  this  report  as 
1,  and  Hennepin  aa  2. 

"The  Sieur  de  La  Salle  couhl  not  build  a 
barque  at  Fort  de  Frontenac  because  of  a 

Sortage  of  two  leagues  at  the  great  fall  of 
[iagara,  without  which  one  could  sail  in  a 
large  vessel  to  Fort  Frontenac  to  the  bottom 
of  Liake  (Illinois.  1)  (Dauphin,  2)  by  the  lakes 
which  are  with  reason  called  fresh  water 
seas.    The  great  river  of  St.  Lan  rence  takes 


its  origin  from  several  great  lakes,  among 
which  are  five  of  an  extraordinary  size,  and 
which  are  badly  laid  down  in  the  printed 
maps.  These  lakes  are  (1.  Lake  Superior, 
the  Lake  of  the  Illinois,  the  Lake  of  the  Hu- 
rons,  the  Lake  Erie,  the  Lake  Frontenac); 
(2,  the  first  Lake  de  Conde.  or  Tracv, 
second.  Lake  Dauphin  or  of  the  Illinois, 
the  third,  Lake  of  Orleans  or  of  the  Hu- 
rons,  fourth.  Lake  de  Conty  or  Erie,  and 
fifth,  Lake  Ontario  named'de  Frontenac.) 
They  are  all  of  fresh  water  and  very  good 
to  drink,  abounding  in  fish  and  surround- 
ed by  fertile  lands.  With  the  exception 
of  the  first,  navigation  is  easy  in  sum- 
mer even  for  large  ve!>sels,  but  difficult  in 
winter  because  of  the  strong  winds  which 
blow  there."  I  might  coi;tinue  the  parallel 
at  some  length.  The  account  of  Hennepin's 
journey  among  tbe  Sioux  bears  a  similar  ver- 
bal similarity.  On  page  478  of  this  volume 
appears  the  beginning  of  that  part  trans- 
lated by  Mr.  Shea  in  his  Discovery 
of  the  Mississioni,  and  continuing 
for  four  or  five  pagej  Hennepin, 
however,  calls  the  MlHslssippi  "Colbert." 
By  very  far  the  larger  part  of  the  report 
bears  no  resemblance  to  Hecncpin.  Hen- 
nepin was  not  above  copying  tbe  report  had 
he  wished  to  do  so  forhLs  book.  Much  of 
his  seoonti  book  was  copied  from  the  sup- 
pressed Le  Clercq.  Still  I  cannot  but  think 
that  those  parts  of  tbe  paper  which  have 
much  resemblance  to  Hennepin  bear  his 
mark.  His  egotism  and  desire  for  promi- 
nence arc  apparent. 

"The  Father  Louis  Hennepin  oflfered  him- 
self to  make  this  journey"  (to  the  Sioux,) 
"to  commence  acqnainiance  with  nations 
among  whom  he  had  thought  he  wiiuld 
go  soon  to  establish  himself  in  preach- 
ing the  faith.  " 

Page  440.  The  carpenters  are  said  to  have 
been  sent  to  Niagara  under  the  charge  of 
La  Motte  and  Father  Louis  Hennepin.  In 
other  accounts  it  is  said  La  Motte  had 
charge. 

Page  444.  The  carpenters  would  have 
been  frightened  away  by  the  Senecas  if  La 
Salle  and  Father  Louis  had  not  taken  pains  to 
reassure  them.  There  are  examples  of  the 
vanity  characteristic  of  Hennepin's  book 
quickly  noticed  by  anyone  w'jO  has  read 
Mr,  Shea's  excellent  bibliographical  sketch  of 
that  work.  The  differences  are  suggestive. 
In  Hennepin  the  account  is  occasionally  en- 
larged by  Introduction  of  other  matter  as 
i  t  by  at  t,e«  though  t .  The  form  s  of  the  names 
of  the  lakes  bear  the  stamp  of  the  wilder- 
ness Superior,  of  the  Illinois,  of  the  Hurons. 
Erie,  in  Hennepin  called  in  compliment 
to  Frenchmen,  de  Conde  or  Tracy, 
Dauphin,    d'Orleans,  de  Conty. 

Hennepin's    own  name  is  in  this  paper 


HENNEPIN— TONTY. 


amonf; 
EC,  and 
)rluted 
perior, 
he  Hu- 
tenac); 
Tracv, 
llinofs, 
Hu. 


Henpin,  while  La  Salle  in  bis  letters  calls 
him  Herapin.  Henpin  was  not  unlikely  the 
oriKinul,  euphonised  by  speech  into  Uempia 
and  by  himself  to  the  more  musical  Hen- 
nepin. 

At  the  lime  this  relation  was  made  Henne- 
pin bad  returnei  from  his  captivity,  and  he 
probably  furnislied  his  repuit  in  writing, 
used  by'  bis  brother  Recollet  in  a  friendly 
spirit.  He  very  liKely  met  La  Salle  himself, 
who  writes,  in  August, to  a  friend  in  France, 
that  Hennepin  was  about  to  go  to  France; 
that  he  would  not  hesitate  to  exaKgcrale; 
"it  is  his  character,"  and  be  speaks  "nearer 
what  he  wishes  than  what  he  does."  I 
doubt  not  the  report  of  Hennepin  was  quite 
cut  short  in  Ibis  paper;  in  fact,it so  appears. 

Following;  this  relation  is  the  recital  from 
Nicholas  de  la  Salle  of  tbe  discovery  of  tho 
mouth  of  our  great  river,  in  108fi,  and  the 
return  to  Quebec.  Next  in  a  general  rela- 
tion of  the  enterprises  of  La  Salle  from  1678 
to  1683  made  by  Tontv,  whobc  nickname, 
"Main  de  fer,"— bancf  of  iron— reminds 
one  of  the  knights  of  old  whi'e  his  beait  was 
as  stout  and  trusty  as  his  hand— a  real 
hand  of  iron,  by  the  way,  found  by  more 
than  one  Indian  to  give  a  very  heavy  blow. 
Tonty  was  successively  commander  at  Ni- 
agara, Crevecoeur  and  Fort  St.  Louis,  and 
desc  ended  the  Mississippi  with  LaSalle.  The 
contents  of  these  600  pages  cannot  be  made 
known  in  a  review.  Their  value  consists 
mainly  in  the  more  complete  variety  and 
perfect  knowledge  which  they  give  of  these 
great  enterprises  of  which  we  had  some  pre- 
vious knowledge.  Tbeir  apparent  value  in- 
creases by  comparison  with  less  authentic 
and  particular  accounts.  LaSalle  is  by  all 
means  the  most  prominent  fl^jure  in  interior 
discovery.  We  have  indicated  bow  vast  his 
plans.    His   life  was  romantic,   his  death 


traric.  In  later  times  claims  to  large  terri- 
tories were  made  under  bis  discoveries.  The 
Fiench  claimed  ui  der  that  right  even  the 
Oiio  and  the  forts  at  Pittsburg  and  Erie, 
wrested  from  them  bv  tbe  En^rlish.  Still 
later  the  population.  French  by  extraction, 
leaned  to  the  United  States  in  the  iievolu- 
tionary  war  and  made  easy  such  occupation 
and  control  as  gave  the  United  States  tl  e 
Northwest  Territory,  In  si  ill  later  times, 
when  our  Northwestern  boundary  was  dis- 
puted, La  Salle's  doings  were  discussed  as  if 
on  them  turned  tbe  fate  of  vast  territory. 

We  say  then  that  we  feel  under  great  ob- 
ligation to  M.  Margry  who,  with  patriotic 
care,  has  collected  and  preserved 
much  valdable  matter;  and  we  werj 
before  this  publication  much  indebted 
for  the  liberal  use  of  bis  treasures  he  has 
permitted  to  Americans.  While  it  has  given 
the  public  a  foretaste  of  his  riches,  it  has 
6timuialed  that  patriotic  zeal  which  makes 
tbe  student  of  history  desire  access  to  the 
original  authorities,  so  that  he  can  see  for 
himself  the  original  and  life-like  records  of 
the  times.  The  English  reader  cannot  better 
estimate  tbe  value  of  this  volume  than  to 
see  bow  often  in  thb  Discovery  of  tbe  Great 
West  these  unpublished  treasures  have  been 
to  Mr.  Parkman  his  best  and  frequently  bis 
only  guide.  Tbe  early  maps  which  accom- 
pany these  and  other  relations  have  not  been 
vet  published.  We  hope  M.  Marery  may 
be  able  to  furnish  ibem.  Some  of  tbe  early 
manuscript  maps  are  vastly  in  advance  of 
those  published.  On  seeing  them,  one  has 
a  profound  respect  for  tbe  discoverers, 
somewhat,  it  must  be  confessed,  at  the 
expense  of  tbe  early  geographers. 

Some  of  the  best  and  clearest  evidences  of 
what  was  done  and  known,  arise/from  tbe 
maps.  ' 


i^ 


